Counter assembly for conveyor

ABSTRACT

A counter assembly adapted to be detachably connected to a conveyor of the type conventionally used to move a series of cartons and the like from one position to another such as from a truck to a receiving platform, the assembly including a recording register actuated by a pivotally supported lever normally extending upwardly above the upper surface of the conveyor and adapted to be pivotally moved uni-directionally upon engagement thereof by a carton so as to actuate said recording register to indicate the number of cartons moving along said conveyor to provide an accurate count of cartons being unloaded from a truck or the like. Safety means are included to prevent any over-travel of the actuating lever being harmful to the recording register.

United States Patent [1 1 Campbell [451 Oct. 9,1973

[ COUNTER ASSEMBLY FOR CONVEYOR [76] lnventorz 22 Filed: Mar. 6, 1972 21 Appl. No: 231,809

Primary Examiner-Even C. Blunk Assistant Examiner-W. Scott Carson Att0rneyC. Hercus Just Harvey A. Campbell, RD. 9, York,

[5 7] ABSTRACT A counter assembly adapted to be detachably connected to a conveyor of the type conventionally used to move a series of cartons and the like from one position to another such as from a truck to a receiving platform, the assembly including a recording register actuated by a pivotally supported lever normally extending upwardly above the upper surface of the conveyor and adapted to be pivotally moved unidirectionally upon engagement thereof by a carton so as to actuate said recording register to indicate the number of cartons moving along said conveyor to provide an accurate count of cartons being unloaded from a truck or the like. Safety means are included to prevent any over-travel of the actuating lever being harmful to the recording register.

2 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures COUNTER ASSEMBLY FOR CONVEYOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Particularly in warehousing operations, it is common practice at present to transport a substantial number of cases or cartons of goods on a truck from a warehouse to a place of delivery such as a super market. Under such circumstances, it is not uncommon for a very substantial number of cases to be delivered to a single location. Bills of lading usually indicate the number of cases of various types being delivered to a given location and the total number of cases for a single destination usually is indicated on such bills of lading. However, during delivery operations, it is not uncommon for a deliveryman to have his attention distracted during an unloading operation, whereby his visual count of the number of cases being unloaded is interrupted and thus the total number of cases observed by him not infrequently is in error. Upon discovery of a discrepancy between the number of cases counted by the deliveryman and the number indicated on an individual bill of lading, much time is consumed in rectifying the count which results in increased delivery costs. The principal purpose of the present invention is to obviate such inaccuracies and provide an accurate count of the number of cases delivered at any given location, regardless of whether the attention of the deliveryman is distracted or not.

Various types of recording registers are in very wide use in industry at present, especially for purposes of indicating the number of products produced by various machines or the number of operations an individual machine performs, as well as a host of other uses too numerous to mention. However, notwithstanding the wide availability of recording registers for many purposes, it appears that providing a recording register on conveyors of the type particularly used on delivery docks to transport cases or objects from a delivery truck to a receiving dock or the like has not been undertaken to any substantial extent.

In this regard, the prior art includes US. Pat. No. 2,670,135 to Flesner et al., dated Feb. 23, 1954, in which a conveyor counter is shown having supporting means which are restricted to use with conveyor rollers of the type having transversely spaced rollers mounted upon axles and the supporting means for the counter mechanism engage such axles, whereby such an arrangement would not be adapted for use with conveyors having rollers which are cylindrical and extend substantially continuously between opposite sides of the conveyor. In addition, the recording register of the Flesner et a] mechanism is actuated by camming mechanism responsive to the movement of a carton slideably engaging a longitudinally extending lever which, in addition to having a tendency to impede the movement of cartons along said conveyor, also requires the cartons to have a predetermined weight in order to be effective to actuate the recording register.

Also in view of the fact that relatively wide differences exist between different types of conveyors used in dock operations of the type referred to, it is apparent that any counter mechanism to be used with conveyors of such type should be more or less universal in character and adapted to be connected to substantially any type of conveyor or at least to any type of conveyor utilizing rollers extending between a pair of side frame members. The present invention has as its principal object the provision ofa counter assembly capable, within reason, of being detachably and quickly connectable to and detachable from a wide range of different types of conveyor structures of the kinds utilizing rotatable rollers supported between parallel side frame members and in which the rollers are spaced from each other in a longitudinal direction along the conveyors.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a counter assembly which includes a recording register supported by an elongated member adapted to extend transversely between and connectable to the side frame members of a conveyor of the type referred to as distinguished in particular from being supported by the axles of the rollers in such a conveyor.

It is another object of the invention to actuate the recording register by means of a simple lever projecting upwardly between a pair of rollers of such conveyor, the upper end of the lever extending slightly above the upper surface levels of the rollers of the conveyor, whereby even very light weight cartons or objects are capable of moving the upper end of the lever from projecting position to a depressed position and thereby actuate the recording register to denote the passage of suchcarton or object along said conveyor.

It is a further object of the invention to provide safety mechanism whereby any over-travel of the actuating lever can be accomodated and will not harm or damage the recording register mechanism.

It is still another object of the invention to connect the counter assembly detachably to the side frame members of'the conveyor by quick-acting means such as clamps having pivotally movable jaws, or other equivalent clamping means, whereby when a conveyor is being set up between a truck and an unloading dock for example, the counter assembly may be quickly connected to the conveyor and, similarly, atthe conclusion of an unloading operation the counter assembly may be quickly disconnected from the conveyor, under which conditions the counter assembly may be carried within the cab of a truck, for example, or supported in a suitable rack provided for the same in the truck cab, whereby no damage will be sustained by the assembly when it is not in use.

A still further object of the invention is to provide additional safety means whereby, in the event the counter assembly is incorrectly connected to the conveyor with respect to the pivotal operation of the actuating lever for the recording register, or in the event a carton is accidentally or otherwise moved in reverse direction from BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of the rear end of adelivery truck and a portion of an unloading dock between which a conveyor extends in unloading position for movement of a carton therealong, the conveyor having a counter assembly embodying the principles of the invention connected thereto.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of a portion of the conveyor shown in FIG. 1 and illustrating details of said counter assembly connected thereto which are on a larger scale than employed in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 2 6 in particular, it will be seen that the counter assembly essentially comprises a sup- FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of the central portion of the counter assembly comprising the present invention and showing certain details thereof.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary downstream elevation of the central portion of the counter assembly illustrated in FIG. 3 and shown on a slightly larger scale than employed in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, but showing the upstream elevation of the same mechanism as illustrated in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary side elevation of a section of the conveyor shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and illustrating, on the same scale used in FIGS. 4 and 5, the counter assembly shown in the latter figures, the actuating means for the recording register of the assembly being shown in full lines in the inoperative position thereof and, in phantom, the actuating member is shown in the position in which it has been moved to effect a recording of the passage of a carton by said recording register.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side elevation of the actuating port member 22 which extends transversely between ,the side members 16 of the conveyor 14. Support member 22 preferably is formed from a strip of metal of suitable dimensions, such as of the order of about threefourths inch wide and one-eighth inch thick. Such dimension is exemplary rather than restrictive. The length of the member is selected so as to be capable of connection to conveyors of a reasonable range of different widths. Particularly where the conveyors have side members 16 which are of a channel construction, said channels provide appropriate flanges to which end portions of the support member 22 may be detachably connected by any suitable means such as appropriate clamps 24. V

In FIG. 6, in particular, the clamps 24 are illustrated as being of the type comprising a pair of clamping jaws, of common commercial type, the jaws being springpressed together at the tips thereof and are capable of readily being installed in clamping relationship to secure the support member 22 to the side member 16 of conveyor 14. Other types of clamping means may be LII lever per se of the counter assembly shown in the preceding figures but showing, additionally, safety means comprising a yieldable upper end portion on said lever which is pviotally connected to the lower portion thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION For purposes of illustrating an exemplary application of the invention in use, reference is made to FIG. 1 in which the fragmentary rear portion of a truck 10 is shown in an exemplary unloading position relative to a dock I2. Extending between the truck 10 and the dock I2 is an exemplary conveyor 14 which is illustrated in plan view in FIG. 2. The conveyor 14 is of a conventional commercial type embodying a pair of parallel side members 16 which, for example, comprise channel members of a type commonly used in the construction of conveyors of the type shown. Extending between the side members 16 at regularly spaced intervals, are a plurality of similar rollers 18 which are supported upon suitable axles extending between the side members 16. conventionally, the rollers 18 are mounted upon appropriate ball-bearing units to minimize friction in the normal operation of the rollers.

From FIG. 2, it will be seen that the rollers 18 preferably are of the cylindrical type but it is to be understood that the counter assembly 20 which comprises the present invention is adapted to be used with conveyors of other constructions, including those which have a plurality of narrow rollers mounted on a common axis, for example, but nevertheless supported between a pair of parallel side members which function similarly to the side members 16 illustrated in the drawing. Further, due to physical characteristics of the counter assembly 20 which is described in detail hereinafter, said assembly is substantially universal in character in that it adapted to be used with a wide range of different types of conveyors as long as said conveyors have transversely spaced, substantially parallel side members between which anti-friction rollers are supported.

used, such as C-clamps, of suitable size. Further, if it is desired to permanently connect the counter assembly 20 to a conveyor, appropriate screws or rivets may be used in lieu of the of the clamps 24.

The counter assembly 20 also includes a strip-like metal bracket 26 which, as will be seen from FIG. 6, is U-shaped in side elevation, one leg thereof having an end 28 which extends transversely therefrom for connection to a mid-portion of the support member 22 by any suitable means such as a screw or rivet 30. Also, from FIGS. 4 and 5 in particular, it will be seen that the mid-portion of support member 22 is offset upwardly from the outer end portions thereof for purposes of disposing certain elements of the counter assembly 20 at a desired level with respect to the uppersurfaces of the rollers 18 of conveyor 14, details of which are described hereinafter.

The bracket 26 has several essential functions. One of these is to support a commercial type of recording register 32. As seen in FIG. 3, said register has a window 34 within which numeral-bearing cylinders are mounted. Such register is similar to those employed conventionally in many types of counter mechanisms, as well as in automobile speedometers and the like. Said register is of the type in which each complete revolution of the right-hand cylinder operates to advance by one digit the next cylinder to the left thereof. The register 32 is operated by an actuating arm 36 which is connected to a shaft extending from one end of the register 32. Also, the arm is connected to a shaft, not shown, which is responsive to an internal spring, not shown, within the register 32; said spring serves to maintain the actuating arm 36 in a predetermined initial position, such as that illustrated in FIG. 6.

The second function of the bracket 26 is to support a guard member 38 which, for example, may be made from a strip of metal similar to that from which the support member 22 is formed. thereby minimizing inventory from which the various elements of the supporting structure of the counter assembly are manufactured. As best seen from FIG. 3, the guard member 38 is U- shaped and the function thereof is to protect the recording register 32 against accidental contact when the counter assembly 20 is mounted in operative position upon a conveyor such as the conveyor 14. Guard member 38 may be very appropriately connected to the opposite leg of bracket 26 from that which has end 28 formed thereon. An appropriate rivet or screw 40 provides the connection.

A lever 42 is supported intermediately of its ends, as viewed in FIG. 6, by a hinge 44, one leaf of the hinge being connected to an outer surface of the lever 42, such as by a nut and bolt 46, or, if desired, a rivet may be used for such connection. The other leaf of the hinge may be secured to the lower side of the upwardly offset intermediate portion of support member 22 by means of the screw 30, for example, by which the end 28 of bracket 26 is connected to the support member 22.

As shown in FIG. 3 in particular, it will be seen that, in cross section, the lever 42 is L-shaped but, if desired, it may be U-shaped. Such cross sectional shapes provide the lever with appropriate rigidty to resist bending. The length of the lever 42 is such that the upper end 48 thereof extends at least a slight distance upwardly above the level of the upper surfaces of the rollers 18, for example, so that as viewed in FIG. 6, it will be seen that a carton 50, or any other similar object adapted to be transported upon the conveyor 14 will engage said upper end 48 of lever 42, when moving in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 6. Such movement will pivotally move the lever 42 to the dotted line position thereof, for example, shown in FIG. 6, from the substantially perpendicular, upwardly extending position shown in full lines in said figure. The latter position is the normal, projecting position thereof, whereas the position shown in phantom in FIG. 6 may be designated as the operating position thereof in that, when said lever has been moved to the phantom position, the recording register 32 has been advanced one digit in the unit counter mechanism thereof.

Operation of the recording register 32 is effected by the lever 42 which is connected to the actuating arm 36 of said register by means of a tension spring 52 which extends therebetween. Preferably, the extent of movement of the lever 42 between the vertical upright position thereof and the angular operating position thereof, is more than adequate to move the actuating arm 36 of the recording register 32 the required distance to record one counting digit of the register 32. Therefore, the tension spring 52 serves as a means to absorb overtravel of the lever 42 and thus prevent damage to the recording register 32, while permitting the upper end 48 of the lever 42 to extend upwardly a sufficient distance to insure engagement thereof by a moving object such as a carton 50 and, thereby, necessarily requiring movement of the upper end of lever 42 through a relatively substantial angle, clockwise, as viewed in FIG. 6 in order to permit passage of he article 50 over said lever before the same is restored to its normal, projecting position shown in full lines in FIG. 6. Such restoration of the lever to said projecting position is effected by means of the aforementioned spring, not shown, which is within the recording register 32. Said spring is of standard construction in commercial registers of the type referred to and illustrated.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that each time an article such as a carton 50, case of goods or other type of object moves along the conveyor 14 and contacts the lever 42, said lever will be depressed to the position thereof illustrated in phantom in FIG. 6 and thereby effect an advance by one digit of the counting mechanism of the recording register 32. Therefore, regardless of whether an attendant or deliveryman is paying attention to the unloading of cartons, etc., from the truck 10, the recording register 32 will positively and accurately record the number of articles passing over the counter assembly 20 while moving along the conveyor 14.

After carton 50 or other article has cleared the depressed lever 42, the same is restored to the vertical position thereof in the manner described above. Such vertical position also is determined by a stop member 54, which, as shown in FIG. 6, is substantially L-shaped. The vertical leg thereofactually comprises a stop, while the horizontal leg thereof is secured by a screw 56, for example, to the upwardly offset mid-portion of support member 22 to whichone end of bracket 26 is connected. Accordingly, for operation of the recording register 32, the lever 42 moves only uni-directionally about the pivot hinge 44, through the arc shown in exemplary manner shown in FIG. 6.

A safety feature which also comprises part of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 7. Said feature concerns lever 42 and comprises forming the upper end 48 of lever 42 so as to be pivotally movable relative to the intermediate portion thereof, to which is is connected by a hinge 58 which preferably is of the type having a spring normally tending to maintain the upper end 48 of lever 42 in axial alignment with the intermediate portion, as shown in full lines in FIG. 7. The purpose of this construction is to prevent damage to the recording register 32 and the mechanism which actuates the same in the event, for example, that the counter assembly 20 is mounted upon the conveyor 14 in a manner which may be considered backward to the correct operative position thereof which is that illustrated in FIG. 6.

In the correct operative position thereof the lever 42 is pivotally movable in the normal direction of movement of the cartons 50 or other similar objects to be moved along the conveyor 14. It is obvious from FIG. 6 that if the carton 50, for example, is moved in the reverse direction to the arrow illustrated in said figures, the upper end 48 of lever 42 would be engaged and, depending upon the force with which the carton 50 is moved, damage to the actuating mechanism can occur. Similarly, damage can occur even under conditions where the counter assembly 20 is mounted correctly but, either through accident or otherwise, the carton 50 or similar objects are moved in the reverse direction to the intended or normal direction of movement thereof.

If incorrect mounting of the counter assembly 20 occurs relative to conveyor 14 or incorrect movement of the cartons 50 or otherwise occurs, the structure shown in FIG. 7 is adequate to prevent damage to the recording register and its actuating mechanism in as much as, under such circumstances, only the pivoted upper end 48 of the lever 42 will be moved, for example, to the phantom position shown in FIG. 7 and this will permit passage of the carton 50 past the otherwise upright intermediate portion of lever 42 without damage thereto or the register 32 actuated thereby.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention provides a counter assembly for a conveyor which is quickly attachable to and detachable from a conventional type of conveyor such as that whichis specifically illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The counter assembly is relatively simple but nevertheless is rugged and durable and is provided with certain protecting,

safety features which minimize the possibility of harm or damage occurring to any parts of the assembly and especially the recording register 32 thereof during normal type of operation of the counter assembly. No tools or special equipment are required to mount the counter assembly in operative position relative to a conveyor and the nature of the supporting means for the counter assembly is such that it may be adapted to a wide variety of different types and widths of conveyors without requiring any additional special equipment or mechanism.

While. the invention has been described and illustrated in its several preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the precise details herein illustrated and described since the same may be carried out in other ways falling within the scope of the invention as illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A counter assembly for a conveyor of the type having a pair of side members supporting a plurality of rollers therebetween spaced in longitudinal relation to each other along said side members and adapted to support shipping cartons and similar articles for movement longitudinally along said conveyor, said counter assembly comprising a combination, an elongated support member adapted to extend transversely between and be connected to said side members of a conveyor between a pair of rollers thereof, a bracket connected to said support member intermediately of the ends thereof and extending downwardly therefrom in use, the lower portion of said bracket extending laterally therefrom at a level below said support member to form a support adapted to be positioned between a pair of rollers on said conveyor, a recording counter register having a resiliently biased arm connected to'said support of said bracket, an elongated lever pivotally connected intermediately of its ends to said support member adjacent said register and one end of said lever being sufficiently long to adapt it to project upwardly from said support member between a pair of said rollers of said conveyor a limited distance above the upper surfaces of said rollers so as to be positioned for engagement by cartons and pivotally moved in one direction thereby while moving along said conveyor when said counter assembly is connected thereto, the upper end portion of said lever which projects above the upper surfaces of said rollers being pivotally connected to the lower portion of said lever for yieldability in the event of accidental reverse movement of a carton occurring on said conveyor, the pivotal direction of movement of said upper end portion of said lever being in opposite rotary direction to that of the pivotally supported lever relative to said support member when engaged by a carton, and a coiled tensioning spring connected at one end to the lower portion of said lever below the pivot thereof and the other end of said spring being connected to the outer end of said arm of said recording counter register and operable to restore the upper end of said lever to said projecting position thereof between a pair of conveyor rollers following pivotal counting movement thereof by a carton moving along said conveyor.

2. The counter assembly according to claim 1 further including additional spring means adapted to maintain said upper end portion of said lever in normal linear alignment with said lower portion of said lever during normal operation of said lever by cartons moving in the intended direction along a conveyor. 

1. A counter assembly for a conveyor of the type having a pair of side members supporting a plurality of rollers therebetween spaced in longitudinal relation to each other along said side members and adapted to support shipping cartons and similar articles for movement longitudinally along said conveyor, said counter assembly comprising a combination, an elongated support member adapted to extend transversely between and be connected to said side members of a conveyor between a pair of rollers thereof, a bracket connected to said support member intermediately of the ends thereof and extending downwardly therefrom in use, the lower portion of said bracket extending laterally therefrom at a level below said support member to form a support adapted to be positioned between a pair of rollers on said conveyor, a recording counter register having a resiliently biased arm connected to said support of said bracket, an elongated lever pivotally connected intermediately of its ends to said support member adjacent said register and one end of said lever being sufficiently long to adapt it to project upwardly from said support member between a pair of saiD rollers of said conveyor a limited distance above the upper surfaces of said rollers so as to be positioned for engagement by cartons and pivotally moved in one direction thereby while moving along said conveyor when said counter assembly is connected thereto, the upper end portion of said lever which projects above the upper surfaces of said rollers being pivotally connected to the lower portion of said lever for yieldability in the event of accidental reverse movement of a carton occurring on said conveyor, the pivotal direction of movement of said upper end portion of said lever being in opposite rotary direction to that of the pivotally supported lever relative to said support member when engaged by a carton, and a coiled tensioning spring connected at one end to the lower portion of said lever below the pivot thereof and the other end of said spring being connected to the outer end of said arm of said recording counter register and operable to restore the upper end of said lever to said projecting position thereof between a pair of conveyor rollers following pivotal counting movement thereof by a carton moving along said conveyor.
 2. The counter assembly according to claim 1 further including additional spring means adapted to maintain said upper end portion of said lever in normal linear alignment with said lower portion of said lever during normal operation of said lever by cartons moving in the intended direction along a conveyor. 